Kukla's Korner Hockey

Publicly, the NHL’s position – on the rare occasions when commissioner Gary Bettman will discuss the NHLPA’s trials and tribulations – is that the league believes a strong union is good for business.

Deep down, it is hard to imagine they truly believe that. Otherwise, would they have not have discouraged Sens owner Eugene Melnyk from filing a complaint that seems like a sure-fire loser, given that Heatley – whatever you may think about him asking for a trade after negotiating a no-movement clause - did not technically breach his contract….

In some ways, the NHL has inadvertently done the players a favour by heading down this path. Just in case the players association required further evidence of the need for strong leadership heading into the next CBA talks, this pre-emptive shot across the union’s bow can only reinforce that belief.

And the NHLPA does have one card to play – the option of extending the CBA to 2012, or for an extra year beyond the original six-year term, to prepare for the battle that lies ahead.